


My Word

by KitsuneBlake



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Assassin's Creed II, One-Shot, Pre-Slash, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-14 21:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7190891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitsuneBlake/pseuds/KitsuneBlake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"When you get old, everything takes on different meaning. Shapes, colours, details which  once were useless. Words, voices, memories of a now lost youth."</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Word

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody! This is the first time I try to translate one of my one-shots from italian. Please, don't hesitate to let me know about any mistake you find. Enjoy!

_When you get old, everything takes on different meaning. Shapes, colours, details which  once were useless. Words, voices, memories of a now lost youth._

_Ezio looks outside the window. He has no memories of such a beautiful May. The wind is pleasant, sweet and lively. Only now he notices the cicadas’ flat and monotonous sound._

_But he enjoys it. If he listened to that sound a bit more, he could even fall asleep._

 

It had been several minutes already, since the last enemy fell at his feet, lifeless.

Catching his breath, Ezio looked up to the road. The air was stinking of blood, but that smell was so familiar he didn’t even notice it.

_Familiar…_

Leaving the corpses, he cleaned his sword and went back to his horse, which got scared from the fierce battle. Calming the animal down took a long time, and Ezio knew he didn’t have much time. But he needed a horse to reach Forlì, where Leonardo was waiting for him. He could have reached him before he got to the city –and the port.

Without waiting any longer, Ezio mounted the horse and rode back to the road, leaving the battle at his back.

More than one hour passed, and the sun was already setting, when he finally saw Leonardo’s wagon. It was on the side of the road. The place was strangely quiet, and this made Ezio tense. He knew that Leonardo did not plan to stop by the road; besides, Forlì was not far from there. Some enemies could have escaped the battle and tracked Leonardo down. Or they could have come from the city. Ezio swears angrily: Girolamo Riario was ruling Forlì, but he didn’t know if he was a friend or an enemy. Rodrigo’s messengers were devilishly fast.

“Ezio!”

The sudden voice, coming from the dark, made him tense once again at first. But he knew that voice pretty well, and he couldn’t be mistaken.

“Leonardo” he called back, dismounting the horse. “I thought you would’ve gone to Forlì without stopping.”

“Indeed, it was my intention. But the horses were terribly tired after that mad run, today. I had to make them rest. Come on, sit! I’m about to turn the fire on.”

Looking at his friend’s eyes, Ezio immediately understood that _turning the fire on_ had just become a new experiment.

Sitting in front of the wannabe fire, the sunset turned to dusk and then darkness.

“I did it!”

The sudden scream woke Ezio up. A timid fire was crackling in front of him.

“Damn, Leonardo, don’t scream so loud”, he burst out, annoyed, “the fire is enough of an attraction for our enemies.”

He talked without thinking, he knew it. He was tired, that’s why. But Leonardo’s expression was already sad and embarrassed by now.

“I thought you would have liked some light and warmth.”, his friend said. “Sorry.”

Indeed, the night was starting being cool. Ezio watched the fire, in silence, but Leonardo clearly wasn’t going to talk anymore. He sighed, embarrassed.

“You’re right, my dear friend. Forgive me, I was mean.”

At first, Leonardo didn’t say anything. Then, finally, Ezio saw a smile on his face. It seemed he didn’t get offended, after all.

“Thank you, Ezio.”

Well, that was a surprise.

“For what?”

“For saving me, today.”

Ezio couldn’t avoid giggling.

“Actually, I put you in danger.”

Leonardo gave him a firm glance.

“You saved me, and that’s it”, he said, turning gloomy. “If there’s anything I can do to show you my gratitude… ”

“What?” Ezio said, astonished, “you’ve done a lot for me!”

“I didn’t mean-“ Leonardo said, embarrassed. Then he looked away.

“What then?”

“Leave it.”

He was acting weird, Ezio thought. He wanted to know what happened to him, but he wasn’t sure about Leonardo’s reaction. Anyway, he was sure everything would’ve gone back to normal the day after. He laid down, using his cape as a pillow, as usual. He didn’t need to ask his friend to keep on the lookout, for he knew he’s used to stay awake during the night. Leonardo was an artist, after all.

“Good night” Ezio said, watching his friend’s dancing shadow.

“Good night, my dear friend” Leonardo whispered, with unexpected sweetness.

The silence fell. Cuddled by the warmth of the fire, Ezio didnn’t take long time to fall asleep.

“Ezio.”

That call shaked him. He woke up, but he felt numb. Was it morning already?

 

“Ezio”, the voice calls again.

He lazily opens his eyes. Strangely, he feels even more tired than before. Then he notices he isn’t on that road to Forlì. He isn’t on a road at all. He’s in a room, small and comfortable, illuminated by an open window.

The voice that called him is familiar, but it’s not Leonardo’s.

“Ezio” Niccolò says. Calmly, as always. “He wants to talk to you.”

Ezio is old, he’s aware of that, but he takes just a moment to understand the meaning of those words. Fighting against his back-ache, he brings the chair next to the bed.

Leonardo is still awake. He’s smiling.

“You should’ve called me immediately” Ezio says, concerned.

“Don’t be silly. We both know that you don’t sleep well. Your back is a mess and you see enemies everywhere.”

Ezio bursts out with an hearty laugh.

“You’re the same. Your head never sleeps.”

“You wouldn’t be here without my head. You told that.”

At those words, Ezio’s lips tremble, with his last dream still vivid in his mind. A tear runs down his hollow cheek.

Then Leonardo grabs his hand. Ezio looks up to his friend’s face. He sees tears, and a sweet, old smile.

“If we’ll ever meet again”, Leonardo whispers, “my door will always be opened.”

“We’ll see each other again. You have my word.”

He’s just finished talking, when he feels Leonardo’s hand becoming horribly heavy. He’s leaving. He’s leaving and he will never come back. His smile is still on his lips.

Shaking and crying, Ezio doesn’t even notice Niccolò, who has silently left the room. He hugs his old friend, his only friend, for the last time. One last time.

 _You have my word_.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. I put the tag "what if" because in the game, after the fight in the Appennini mountains, Ezio reaches Leonardo in the port, and not before.  
> 2\. "My door will always be opened" is a semi-quote from AC2, while "We’ll see each other again. You have my word" comes from Brotherhood.


End file.
